Sent To Protect and Serve Humanity

Chapter 18: By Blood Alone

3rd POV

The view of Remnant from orbit was stellar, to say the least. Her beautiful blue hue was offset by the endless void that accompanied it, like a marble in an eternal ocean. It was and will always be breathtaking, no matter the habitable planet, for the view of such a creation outshines all but the brightest of stars.

With the help of a more experienced humanity, Remnant was beginning her transformation into a lady, be it sooner or later. Eventually, she may have an empire to rival that of Earth's, but that's still quite some time away.

The Valean Anchorage in orbit of the planet resides as the official base of operations for the Alliance, as dubbed by the leader, and where the former Covenant separatists would officially fall under UNSC jurisdiction, operating with slightly more autonomy than their human counterparts.

The hanger bays were in constant motion as swarms of Longswords and Banshees flew in and out of the station, occasionally accompanied by F-99 Wombat squadrons, Seraph Strike Groups, and, rarely, a single FSS-1000 Saber squadron.

Nearby, construction drones flew to and from a large, immobilized cruiser and another construction of the UNSC, a Phoenix-Class Support Ship. The UNSC Godspeed, along with his escorts, Harmonic Eulogy and Adamant Justice, remained on standby for any and all incursions in orbit while the UNSC Oklahoma underwent a refitting and slipspace drive was carefully removed. In low orbit and planet side, Righteous Consecration silently hung just out of sight while Pledge of Defiance stalked the Beacon Academy grounds.

"How much longer until I can shake off the dust, sir?" Oklahoma tiredly asked over the radio, sounding as if he just woke up.

Godspeed set his cup of freshly brewed darjeeling down in the small cup holder in his chair before responding. "Now's not the time for eagerness, Oklahoma. My factories have worked nonstop to get your transition done."

"Why do I have to be the carrier, though? Don't you have enough- nevermind. I understand." Oklahoma tried to argue, only to stop mid sentence.

"I'm glad you do. With the extra payload you'll carry, we may stand a chance during the battle." The old man explained before picking up his cup again. "Hopefully, you'll be combat ready by then."

With a confused tone, the new light carrier spoke. "Battle? Are you expecting trouble soon?"

"Fraid so. I don't know where exactly, so all we can do is pray the Covenant bide their time for the next couple weeks." Godspeed answered with his usual calmness before taking a sip of his tea. "Intercepted a transmission a couple of hours ago, but it just states 'Turn a Monumental Grievance into Budding Victory'."

"Seems basic enough." The young man yawned.

"Basic enough for me to overthink it." The old man stated before leaning back and closing his eyes. 'Monumental Grievance' raced through his head, but his mind was too cluttered for a proper theory.

He needed to find a way to rush the conversion if the UNSC truly wanted to bite back, let alone bite at all. For now, he'll continue to monitor all of his units and work on upgrades.

______________________________________

While the fight was back on and the UNSC's war machine began to roar back to life, the escorts continued their little slice of life with utter joy, even if they were sleeping as of now.

It was the middle of the night on Remnant, roughly, and most of the group were asleep in a dark room with a burnt-out campfire in the center. Toward the window, Hastings and Lightly Sways held vigil over the outside world.

From their position inside the building, they could see a destroyed playground in the center of some sort of park. Whatever it was, most of the children's equipment was overrun with vegetation seeping through the ground while the scenery around it remained all the same.